READ: An Open Letter to All The K-Pop Fans Who Are Afraid of Being Judged

“We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation.”

Paulo Coelho

Being a K-Pop fan is never an easy thing to do. For me, it is tougher than my professional career in real world. As a K-Pop fan, you should be mentally, spiritually and emotionally prepared for what the others may thrown at you.

I’m 26 years old. Some says that in my age, i should be focusing on the other things such as looking for my other half, having my own family, etc. And they assumed that i couldn’t start doing those things because of this crazy hobby of mine–which is being a K-Pop/K-Drama fan.

Being a fan isn’t about the age. Age is just a number as they said. Being a Noona/Unnie or a Hyung/Oppa fan isn’t something we should be embarrassed with. We should be proud instead.

I also remember having conflicts with my non-Kpop fan friends about this. I’m sure this is the most common problem that we encounter as a Korean Culture fan. The important lesson I’ve learned through this is to just be yourself. You don’t have to deny or hide the fact that you are a fan. If they are your true friends, they will accept you for who you are. Again, we shouldn’t be embarrassed, we should be proud.

You are not immature. You are extraordinary. It’s because you are showing an act of love, respect and appreciation towards someone who deserves to be loved, respected and appreciated in every way. Always remember that.

If being a fan is something that makes you happy, then go with it. Never mind what the others said. As long as you are not bothering or hurting someone, just be it.

Never think of yourself as a nuisance. Being a fan means you are just expressing your feelings. As a fan, we never expect anything in return. Seeing our idols happy and contented feels like we already achieved our goal as a fan.

Always remember that we should be proud of what we are right now. Age, Gender and Nationality doesn’t matter. Salute to all the fans around the world.